Spalgis epius epius

Westwood 1851 - The Apefly

A very small, common species, often found in gardens flying arround plants infested with scale insects.

The English name is very unattractive, but if one looks carefully at the underwings, it actually possesses a very attractive set of striae. The name actually comes from the shape of the species's pupa, which resemble the head of a monkey.

Flight Period

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Wingspan

20 - 30mm

Early Stages

Detailed life history information is available from the following resources. S Igarishi - Life Histories of Asian Butterflies, Volume 2, Page 545.

Larval Foodplant

The larvae are carniverous, feeding on unidentifed species of scale insects.